Visiting Faculty Member Ayelet Gundar-Goshen Tells Israel's Story Through Its Arts

Tuesday, February 06, 2018

J. (SAN FRANCISCO) -- On a campus with a reputation for conflict, dissension and dogma when it comes to Israel, the arrival of Israeli novelist Ayelet Gundar-Goshen to San Francisco State University offers something of a counterbalance.

The award-winning author of the novel Waking Lions is teaching a semester-long class in the Department of Jewish Studies, where she is introducing students to the complicated psyche of the Israeli people through the study of contemporary Israeli writers. In this way, she hopes to offer American students a more nuanced picture of Israel than they might get from the headlines. “Our culture is much more divided and diverse and rich,” she said.

The 35-year-old writer is a Schusterman visiting Israeli artist, a program of the Israel Institute that for 10 years has brought prominent Israeli writers, filmmakers, musicians and choreographers to teach in colleges across the U.S., with the aim of inspiring a deeper understanding of Israel.